Orchard-ladder



N0. 6l0,890. PatentedSept. 20, 1898.

H. BOWMAN.

ORCHARD LADDER.

(Application filed Oct. 16, 1897.)

(No Model.)

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srncxrrcn'rxon forming part of Letters Patent No. 610,890, dated September 20, 1898.

Application filed October 16, 1897.

To all whom it may concern.-

Beitknown that LHARVEY BowMAN,a citizen of the United States, residing at Forgy, in the county of Clark and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Orchard-Ladders; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to orchard-ladders for gathering fruit.

The invention is an improvement of the ladder shown and described in a pending application for United States Letters Patent filed by myself November 16, 1897, Serial No. 6123M.

The objects of the invention are to provide a ladder that may be freely moved around and between the limbs and branches of the trees without injury to said trees, to lighten the ladder, to cheapen the cost thereof, and, in a word, to provide a ladder that is entirely practical for fruit-gathering purposes.

The invention is fully illustrated in the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure 1 is an upright front elevation of my improved orchard-ladder. Fig. 2 is an upright side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section above the hand-bars and the basket-shelf. Fig. 4 is an enlarged de tail View, partly in section, showing the manner of securing the hand-bars to the standards. Fig. 5 is a detached side elevation of one of the brackets. Fig. 6 is a detached view of the brace-plate for the front or crossed standards. Fig. 7 is a detached View of one of the brackets for the upper ends of the stepstandards. Fig. 8 is a side View of an' upper end of one of the step-standards and brackets. Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the lower end of one of the front standards.

In the detailed description the same reference characters will indicate the same parts in the several views.

1 designates the rear or step standards, havin g a suitable number of steps 2. 3 designates brackets rigidly attached to the upper ends $erial No. 655,381. (No model.)

of said standards 1. The triangular side brackets 4 011 the upper sides of the ladder are practically the same as shown and described in the pending application hereinbefore referred to; but instead of having separate pivot-pins for the brackets 3 I have provided a continuous rod 5, that extends across and projects through the openings in both of said triangular brackets and through the brackets 3,0ne end of said bar 5 being provided with a head and the other end having a nut. This rod,besides forming a pivotal connection for the upper ends of the step-standards, also provides a firm and rigid connection between the two triangular brackets and brings the inner sides of the standard-brackets 3 close to the sides of the triangular brackets 4, so that any unnecessary flexibility at the upper end of the ladder is avoided, the said brackets being drawn close to each other by tightenin g the nut on said rod. The front standards 6 instead of extending up in the same lines with the step standards are crossed near their upper ends. This manner of crossing or arranging said standards, besides forming a rigid and durable attachment of the front standards, reduces to a considerable extent the space occupied by said standards at a point where the ladder meets the brackets or limbs of the trees, This space is clearly shown in Fig. 1 at a a. This is avery im portant feature of the ladder, as thereby it is enabled to be gotten into positions without injuring the trees, and also by thus crossing these standards I am able to dispense with the use of three pieces'-to wit, the crossbraces between said standards and the crossbrace at the topas shown and described in said pending application.

15 is an angle-plate fixed tothe standards 6 at the point where they cross and serving to make rigid the ladder at that point. The upper ends of'said standards are rigidly attached to the triangular brackets 4:. In the present construction the basket-shelf comprises a wire-cloth 7 with large meshes. This is attached to the cross-bars 8 8, that are joined to the hand-bars 9 9. The front of said hand-bars are attached to the standards 6 by bolts, and their rear ends are detachably securedto the step-standards by means of bolts 10, that pass through openings in said hand-bars and into slots 11 in brackets 12, secured to the inner sides of the step-standards.

13 designates brackets secured to the lower ends of the standards 6 over holes in said standards. These brackets form the bearings for the shaft of the ground-wheels 14:.

Having described my invention, I claim- A step-ladder comprising rear and front standards 1 and 6, the latterstandards being crossed, an angle-plate to which said standards 6 are secured at their point of intersection, and the former standards being provided with steps, triangular brackets at the upper end of said ladder, a transverse rod connecting the rear ends of said triangular brackets and the upper ends of the stepstandards, and ground-wheels and hand-bars mounted on said standards, as herein shown and described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HARVEY BOXVMAN. Witnesses:

R. J. MGOARTY, B. MCCARTY. 

